St Mary's ministers have over 150 years experience of ministry between us. Preparing the dying for their death and offering quiet and prayerful support for the bereaved are fundamental callings of any minister of religion, and compassion and gentleness are central to our work.
As well as the Church's formal end of life provisions - 'The Last Rites', Confession, Prayers at the time of death - we are available just to talk with the dying or with their family, or simply to remember them in our prayers and in the prayers of the Church. And we know that bereavement is a time which tests and even breaks faith - our job isn't to sell God, but to hold you safe in the love of God. No Salesman Will Call.
Please get in touch if you think we might be able to support or help.
'A Good Funeral' is one which allows us to express our grief, to remember the life of the person who has died with honesty and affection (and often laughter), and to commend them into the safe and loving hands of God until death itself shall be no more.
We will help you plan the Church, Crematorium or Graveside service - we've worked with families in every sort of need, from the gentle end of a long and happy life to the pain of sudden, early or tragic death, and can suggest ways of making the service 'fit' the person.
After a funeral, bereavement can take many strange turns - everyone is different. Most families find within themselves the support and resources needed to see through the first difficult months, but it's part of the work of the Parish Church to offer support if it feels helpful
The departed are remembered in prayer by name in the weeks before and after a funeral, and each year at All Souls' Tide a Memorial Service is held where families gather for a service of reflection and remembering.
Please reach us at bartonstmary@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Though most town churchyards were closed years ago, many in villages are still open for burials. Many also have an area for cremated remains.
Churchyards are usually much smaller than a civil cemetery, may have wildlife-friendly areas, and often contain generations of local families; they're also in a place where sadness is mixed with joy, for the same building as has seen countless funerals has also seen many, many weddings and Christenings - they're places where the shole of life has been celebrated.
If you live in a parish with an 'open' churchyard you have the right to be buried there. You don't 'own' the grave, unlike in a civil cemetery, and because the churchyard is a sort of conservation area there are some restrictions on the sort of memorials which can be put up - but they are a lot cheaper!
In most of our communities, the parish Church has long been a focal building where life's great events have been marked - and anyone who imagines that our ancestors were all devout Sunday worshippers needs only read some of the records from the past to find out they were as mixed a bag as we - but their life events were celebrated in Church (even if they were the parish scoundrel).
That's not to say that you have to be the parish scoundrel to get a Church funeral - but it does mean that, throughout the ages, anyone and everyone is welcome to have their funeral service in church, simple or complicated, big or small, devout or not really sure what it's all about.
Yes, you will get mention of God - it's what we do -but it won't be rammed down your throat with threats of hell-fire, but rather the assurance that your loved one is eternally precious to God, as well as to you.
And because it's your building and ours, there's no sense of 'Must get a move on, there's another family waiting' or 'Must get it through in 30 minutes.' If we need longer, we take longer - and factor it in to our planning so you don't have an unseemly dash to Woodlands.
St Mary's Parish Church , Barton-upon-Humber
Burgate, Barton-upon-Humber, North Lincolnshire DN18 5EZ